Let's Talk BBQ
Recipes => Recipes => Appetizers => Topic started by: Hub on December 18, 2013, 07:51:01 AM
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For years I've made sausage balls (Bisquick, cheddar cheese and ground sausage) for Christmas snacks as a sort of non-sweet "offset" to the candy, cakes and pies we always have. Trouble is, they can be kind of dry and unappealing texture-wise. Here's a new recipe I picked up on Facebook and tried for the inmates at our prison ministry outreach group. They got rave reviews! These actually have a sort of creamy texture and a real zesty flavor. Follow the recipe and recommendations exactly for best results.
1 lb. Ground Sausage (Hot -- do not use mild -- the heat will be important and isn't overpowering). Premium brand, not cheap stuff.
8 oz. Cream Cheese (not no-fat, not Neufcatel). Premium brand.
1 1/4 Cup Bisquick (the brand, not store brand substitute biscuit mixes)
4 oz. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (coarse shred, do not use mild -- the "bite" will contribute to the overall flavor and not dominate)
Bring the sausage and cream cheese to room temperature in order to make mixing easier. Leave the shredded cheddar in the refrigerator until mixing actually begins.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Combine all ingredients (softened/warmed sausage and cheese, chilled cheddar shreds, and Bisquick) in a large bowl using your hands to mash and knead it together. Do this until all ingredients are THOROUGHLY combined. This is tiring, boring, messy work but you cannot overdo it. Thoroughly mixed dough is essential to a quality final product.
Form the dough into 1 1/2 inch diameter balls (again using your hands, not a small scoop). The warmth of your hands contributes to the compaction and texture of the ball. Recipe above will make 24-30. Space about 1/2 inch apart on a foiled baking sheet. Greasing or spraying the sheet with pan release (e.g. PAM) isn't absolutely necessary but you can if you want.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until balls "fluff up" a little and turn light golden brown. If you want to grab you PT-100 or Thermapen, the IT will be about 180 or so.
Cool before serving. Store in refrigerator. Will keep for a week. I'm told you can freeze and re-heat them but I didn't try that. Recipe can be multiplied easily (I doubled it).
At last! A sausage ball with a pleasant (not dry, crunchy) texture and a little zingy flavor ;D Enjoy!!!!
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Definitely "borrowing" this one!
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Sounds good Hub.. thanks for sharing.
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Sounds good. I hate those ones that come out like "dusty rocks". They usually require an extra beer just to be able to eat them. I guess there is a price to pay for everything. I'll try your recipe.
Art
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Sounds great Hub, but I usually take a small bite & fill in the gap with some Frank's Red Hot. That takes care of the dry texture & lack of bite. However, I will give this a try. :)
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Never had a sausage ball before. Think I might borrow this one too
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Those do sound good Hub. I'll have to put this one on the 'to try' list.
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Interesting, will give that a try. Thanks for posting ;D
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Looks like they are really delicious Hub! I am also going to "borrow" this recipe and
give it a shot! Just wonder if I could do it on my pellet grill. ;)
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Hub this sounds interesting. Thanks for the recipe! I will try this out as my contribution for our work Christmas brunch. 8)
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Looks like they are really delicious Hub! I am also going to "borrow" this recipe and
give it a shot! Just wonder if I could do it on my pellet grill. ;)
Actually, I'd planned to cook them on my Memphis and give them just a "kiss" of smoke but it was just cold enough outside (yes, I know it is a lot colder in more northerly climes ::) ) so I pansied out and did them in the oven.
Hub
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Never had a sausage ball before. Think I might borrow this one too
Really?? I love them and these Hub posted sound very good and I'm going to try them this week.
Thanks for the recipe Hub
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Love sausage balls!
Thanks for the recipe.
Bookmarked :)
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Thanks for the recipe. Added these to my little 'black book' ;)
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Hub, I made these sausage balls from your recipe, took them to the work Xmas brunch and all who tried them, wanted more when they were gone! Oh and they lasted all of 15 minutes too! So we made a double-batch and took to the family Xmas dinner.....same scenario. "Who brought those?" "How did you make them?" "Is there more?" I'd say they were a hit! Thank you sir for your recipe!
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Made a batch for Christmas munchies and they were wolfed down !!! Thanks for the recipe :)
(http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab105/papa_peter/Recipes/CreamyPorkBalls12252013/porkBalls3_zps8a322a47.jpg)
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Link sent to myself, CHECK!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)
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I went there too! Unicorn style I guess, no pics. No spicy sausage available, had a 2 lb chub of Jimmy Deans regular, added come Tapitio and chili powder. Used Extra Sharp Cheddar and threw in a handful of shredded parm, minced onion, minced garlic. Let the whole mess get friendly overnight, cooked in the am and into a warm crockpot for travel. I don't think I'll ever need a BBQ comp, cause there is no greater satisfaction for me than to have my stuff to be the first empty dish on a potluck table! This is a fun recipe to play with. Thanks!
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I absolutely love Sausage Balls. We make 'em every New Year's Eve and add some hot sauce to half of them to kick them up a notch.
Hub, We've never made 'em with cream cheese, only the cheddar. I'll have to show the Mrs. your recipe with the cream cheese so we can give it a try this year.
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Tried this recipe for Christmas Day, and it is superb! Seems the local purveyor of edibles was out of Bisquik on Christmas Eve, so I went with Pioneer Baking mix. We also had plenty of mild sausage (OK, I forgot to get hot sausage while @ the store and didn't want to go back), but I did use real cream cheese & sharp cheddar.
Hub, this is an excellent recipe for sausage balls that is worth saving. Now I understand why hot sausage is required, as regular/mild sausage gets lost in the process. The baking mix & cream cheese will soak up a lot of the heat from the hot sausage, and these need that extra kick because the sausage flavor is reduced by adding cream cheese.
I reheated a handful of these at work yesterday and they were still good a couple of days later.
Thanks again for sharing this, Hub! :)